# Question about which Nordings are handmade and which ones aren't



## tychosonic (Jul 13, 2010)

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## RJpuffs (Jan 27, 2008)

tychosonic said:


> I recently bought a beautiful Nording freehand from my local tobacconist for $120. It has the "Handmade in Denmark by Erik Nording" nomenclature stamped on the side. Now I would assume that this would mean that Erik himself crafted this pipe and not one of many pipe makers that he employs, am I right? Also, which of the Nording pipes are handmade and which aren't. I specifically wanted to know about the ones with the numbered ratings surround by the "Nording Made in Denmark" stamp and the Nording signature pipes.


I doubt "he" made the pipe personally. Although that is a possibility, it usually means the man oversaw its manufacture (Erik Nording as the company made it, not the individual). If its stamped HAND MADE, its hand made, on machines yes, but it has an individuality that pure machine-made pipes lack (like Petersons).


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## Commander Quan (May 6, 2003)

Here's a little info from the Nording website



> Consumer interest in Danish freehand pipes helped Nording expand throughout the 1970s and early '80´s. "They were easier for me to carve," he says, "because nobody in those days knew the free-hands. We were making thousands and thousands of those." The Nording factory at that time reached its peak production, and Nording employed 52 workers.
> 
> Things have slowed somewhat since, and currently Nording employs 6 pipe makers, who produce approximately 15,000 pipes a year. They work in the shop that takes up the lower level of the Nording residence. It's spacious, more than 800 square meters, with three main workrooms, several smaller offices, and a large storage area for the 20,000 blocks of briar kept on hand, which comes mainly come from Corsica and Greece. "I don't age it," says Nording. "I allow it to dry properly, so it ages a little during that process, but once it is dry it's fine for pipe making. All this talk about it being necessary for briar to age 30 years or whatever for good pipes, in my opinion, is nonsense. I've seen every stage of harvesting. I've been out digging the briar; I've been to sawmills; I've experienced everything. And I'm telling you, once you can dry a piece of briar without it cracking, it is ready to work."
> 
> ...


Erik Nording


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## tychosonic (Jul 13, 2010)

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## sounds7 (Mar 25, 2009)

I only have one Nording and it is a weird one. He made two of these or so he told me, It is the pipe he calls the Psychedelic. It is easily spotted in this picture of my "freehands."










Anyway to me it smokes so so, kind of a big bowl so I dont use it too much.


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## CWL (Mar 25, 2010)

I have 5 Nordings, only one of them has "hand made by Erik Nording" on it. It doesn't look any different than the numbered ones (which are confusing enough as they aren't that much different).

All I know is that all Nordings have great draws and smoke very well.


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## dmkerr (Oct 27, 2008)

It really shouldn't matter that Erik himself didn't make it. How many of the Savinelli Autographs we see around did Achille Savinelli actually make? Or even Giancarlo, for that matter? A great smoker is a great smoker and if a pipe comes from either factory, it's probably a good one. Enjoy your pipe; Nording handmades are really nice!


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